~~A friend was picking my brain for a legal perspective during a tense family dispute. I told her what she needed to know, then rebuffed her offer to pay. She wondered why, and I said, “I’ll bill you when I assist you, not when I inform you.” I know many colleagues would charge her for something that anyone could glean after five minutes online, but I just don’t have the stomach for it.

~~The colleagues I refer to above are all on vacation this week, so I may have to rethink my basic philosophy at some point.

~~Each year I hold a “book swap” where friends bring over books they’ve read and depart with different ones. I wrote about it a few years back: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lita-smithmines/party-likes-its-2009_b_177686.htmlThe conversations usually end up having a theme, and this one was how so many of us are tired of being tired. Most of us are stretched too thin and bombarded with too many demands for our time, and we’re not handling it all that well. How about you? Do you sleep at night, knowing that you will never get through all the stuff you have to do the next day?

~~You know I’ve been on the Mitt was cruel to his dog bandwagon for some time, but I want to applaud the person or persons who took it to another level with this website:

~~Deep words making the rounds on social media: When elected officials take office, they put their hand on a Bible and swear to uphold the Constitution, not swear on the Constitution to uphold the Bible.

Have a great weekend! Spring training has begun, and I’ll soon have a third team to root for, though I have to say, I haven’t felt any void this year (yet), since both the Blueshirts & the Knicks are far exceeding their customary winter blahs.